Screen for separating almonds and hulls



April 24, 1928. 1,667,194

- T. J. CRAIG ET AL SCREEN FOR SEPARATING ALMONDS AND HULLS Filed March 3. 1926 Fly. 1

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ATEN Eric THOMAS JAMEscnAIG AND ARTHUR L. scar e t, orrmncnnjonnrronnra.

scnnnnron snranur'ms ALMONDS Am) Home,

Application filed March 3.1926 Serial No. 91,890.

This invention relates to improvements in screens and partlcularly to a screen tor use in separating almonds from hulls which are mixed vtherewith after the almonds have been primarily screened to remove the hulls therefrom after leaving a :hulling machine. During thelatter screening operation a certain number of small almonds will pass through the screening holes (usually round). Themost common way nowemployed to salvage these almonds is to hand-pick them, which method however is slow, tedious and costly. n

The almonds wdnch are mixed with the hulls are, of course, small and therefore to separate them by screening requires a peculiar type of screen Whichwill positively move the hullstherethrough, but of a fine enough mesh to hold the almonds and allow them to be discharged into containers free of the hulls. It has therefore been the principal object of ourinvention to provide such a screen, and this we believe we have accomplished by making a screen consisting essentially of elongated slits narrow enough to hold the almonds from passing therethrough I but wide enough to pass the hulls edgewise therethrough and so constructed as to positively move the hulls to edgewise position so that they will drop through the slits and not hang thereon and thus clog the screen.

A further objectof the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedin ly effective for the purpose for which it is 4 esigned.

These objects we accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal ofv the following specification and claim.

In I the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the screen showing one way by means of which it can beshaken and gyrated, to settle the hulls through the screen and move the clean almonds therefrom.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one small section of the screen.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of screen.

Fig. i is a sectional View taken on a line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

of a modified type I dustry Fig. 5 :is a. sectional view. of an almond hull hung upon ascreen web. 7 Referring now more particularly to the characters. of reference on thedrawings, the numeral 1 designates the screen "and its frame as a whole. In practice this screen and frame will be mounted on Supporting springs or like structure2 and Will be arranged for a shaking and gyrating movement thereon actuated by a push rod 3 operated from an eccentric cam 4 driven by a pulleyfi connected with any suitable source of power notshown. -This specific operating structure, is no part of our invention and may be substituted by any other operating means found desirable.

'Our' improved screen proper comprises a body of thin sheetmetal 6 cut into'which are a plurality of thin slits? just sufliciently wide to allow almond hulls to comfortably pass edgewise therethrough, but narrow enough to retain small almonds on the top of the screen.

The connecting webs 8 between the slits 7 are relatively wide and mustgbe of a width greater than the width between the sides of .a partly opened average, almond hull so that i it will be impossible for the hull tosuspend or hang over the web as shown in Fig. 5, since when this happens the hulls will at once clog the screen and render it inoperative. Therefore this feature of the relatively wide web consti'tutesthe main novelty of our screen over other screens and as far as our contact with the almondscreening ingoes we have never seen a like structurewith the same function. V

WVith our screen constructed as described the shaking and gyratioin of the screen causes the fiat sides of split hullsto turn edgewise and drop through the slits 7. A partly open hull comprising the two halves connected along one edge will shake along the relatively wide webs and since it cannot straddle and hang up on the same one edge of the hull will. gradually get into aslit 7 and creep around the thin edge of the sheet metal until the hullturns to reverse position underneath the screen whereupon it will fall through and clearthe screen. The nuts will of course pass off of the screen and can be conveyed to suitable containers, not shown. p y i In the modified form of screen shown in Figs. 3 and 4, l designates the screen body and frame, 6 the screen proper, 7 the slits and 8 the webs. In this form of screen the Webs 8" have upstruck curved ribs 9 thereon on the top face of the screen. These curved,

Webs Will assist in making positive and assisting in the creeping action of the partly open hulls described by positively directing them toward the edges of the Webs.

From the foregoing description it Will be readily seen that We have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set fortl'iherein.

lVhile this specification sets forth in der tail the present and preferred construction ofllle device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described our invention What We claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A screen for the purpose noted comprising a thin flat body providedwith narrow slits, relatively Wide Webs between the slits, and upstruck curved ribs on the upper sides of the Webs leaving a part of the flat plane of the Webs between the edges of the ribs and the edges of the slits;

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures THOMAS JAMES. CRAIG. ARTHUR 'L. SCOFIELD. 

